The present invention relates to a wiring base, wire-wound member production method, a wire-wound member, and an electrical connection box.
Conventionally, a wire-wound member in which an electric wire is wound around a wiring base such as, for instance, a wire-wound member for an electrical connection box is produced by supporting and rotating an electrical insulating wiring base with a rotation tool, feeding an electric wire from a wiring head and winding the electric wire around the wiring base to wire the electric wire like in drawing with a single stroke, and then cutting the electric wire at a prespecified position according to the circuit design (Refer to, for instance, Japanese Patent Application No. 18658/2000). In this step, sometimes a plurality of wiring bases are placed adjoining each other on the rotation tool, electric wires are wound around the wiring bases respectively, the plurality of wiring bases having been removed from the rotation tool are overlaid on each other by folding at the positions of electric wires connecting the adjoining wiring bases to form a wire-wound member.
When a wire-wound member is produced by rotating a wiring base with a rotation tool to wind an electric wire around the wiring base, it is necessary to move the wiring head to and away from the wiring base in a complicated way to evade interference between the rotating wiring base and the wiring head.
Namely, as shown in FIG. 13A and FIG. 13B, a wiring base B rotates so that the external periphery follows the locus Lc indicated by the dash-and-dot line in the figures, and an electric wire W fed out from a wiring head H is wired. In this step, it is required to make the wiring head H move in association with rotation of the wiring base B in a complication way like moving away from the axis Ax by the range R which is substantially equal to the radius of the locus Lc as indicated by the arrow A1 in FIG. 13A or moving to the axis Ax by xc2xd R which is substantially equal to xc2xd of the radium of the locus Lc.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a wiring base, wire-wound member production method making it possible to produce a wire-wound member only by moving a wiring head in a direction along the rotation axis with low cost and without causing interference between the wiring base and the wiring head, a wire-wound member, and an electrical connection box in which this wire-wound member is used.
To achieve the object described above, the wiring base according to the present invention comprises an electrical insulating material and has a plurality of wing sections each radially protruding against the axis functioning as a rotation axis in the wiring work, and electric wire grooves for accommodating electric wires therein respectively are formed in the substantially concentric form on the plurality of wing sections.
Also to achieve the object described above, in the wire-wound member production method according to the present invention, a wire-wound member is produced by rotating a wiring base having a plurality of wing sections each made from an electrical insulating material, extending in the axial direction and at the same time radially protruding from the axis with electric wire grooves each for accommodating electric wire therein formed in the substantially concentric form or the electric wire around the axis of the wiring base and also relatively moving the electric wire or the wiring base in the axial direction of the wiring base to wind the electric wire in the electric grooves.
Further to achieve the object described above, the wire-wound member according to the present invention is produced by the production method described above.
In addition, to achieve the object described above, in an electrical connection box according to the present invention, the wire-wound member produced by the production method described above is accommodated in the casing.
The present invention can provide a wiring base, wire-wound member production method making it possible to quickly produce a wire-wound member only by moving a wiring head in one direction along the rotation axis with low cost and without causing any interference to the wiring base and also can provide the wire-wound member and an electrical connection box using the wire-wound member therein.
The above-described and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more fully understood by referring to the detailed description as well as to the attached drawings.